"Bang" Ludwig goes into surgery next week, stumps for UFC's fastest-KO record

Although Todd Duffee is officially listed as the record-holder for the fastest knockout in UFC history at seven seconds, Ludwig said that’s not so, and he’s not the only one who believes the record is his.

Following UFC 134 and just before neck surgery next week, the Denver-based fighter told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) that he’s reaching out to the Nevada State Athletic Commission to see if they’ll change the official result of a 2006 bout with Jonathan Goulet.

The fight took place in Las Vegas at UFC Fight Night 3 and ended when Ludwig uncorked a punch at the advancing Goulet that sent him face-first to the mat. When referee Mario Yamasaki intervened, only four or five seconds had elapsed on the clock. But for some reason, the official time of the stoppage was listed at 11 seconds of the first round.

At the time, MMA legend Don Frye held the fastest knockout in history for his eight-second KO of Thomas Ramirez at UFC 8. Duffee later set a new official record by knocking out Tim Hague at UFC 102 a second quicker.

Ludwig since has started a petition on Facebook to have the result changed and has gotten 3,008 “likes” since it was made active.

“The UFC sent me a copy of the DVD, so I’m going to send that off to the commission with a letter and then with a link to the Facebook [petition] I have,” he said. “Hopefully that gets locked down. That would be cool.”

Then Ludwig will go to work on another task: getting healthy. The longtime veteran goes into surgery next Tuesday for a compressed disc in his neck that he suffered in camp for a fight with Amir Sadollah at UFC on Versus 5.

Although Ludwig dominated the fight en route to a decision victory, he did not prepare properly as a result of the injury.

“I literally sparred one time for this camp,” he said.

What exactly is being done to his neck is still a question mark. He’s had so many surgeries over the years, they’ve blended together.

“It’s two weeks’ recovery,” he said. “I’m not too sure what they’re doing – if they’re fusing the discs or what goes on – but I’ve got a smushed disc, and they’re going to do whatever. I’m not sure.

“It doesn’t sound fun, for sure. I’ve had quite a few surgeries over the last few years and I’m not looking forward to this. But it’s part of the game, and I signed up for it, so I’ll get it done.”

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